They had lots of activities for the kids: a playground, hayride, trucks, cotton seed slope, petting area, hay maze, etc. It was a fun place to visit and all the kids got to pick out a pumpkin and take it home.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
San Diego Pumpkin Patch
After Disneyland we stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house in San Diego. Grandma wanted to take everyone to a pumpkin patch that she had visited a week or so before.
They had lots of activities for the kids: a playground, hayride, trucks, cotton seed slope, petting area, hay maze, etc. It was a fun place to visit and all the kids got to pick out a pumpkin and take it home.
They had lots of activities for the kids: a playground, hayride, trucks, cotton seed slope, petting area, hay maze, etc. It was a fun place to visit and all the kids got to pick out a pumpkin and take it home.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Disneyland
Axton has been asking to go to Disneyland for about a year and I refused to go while I was pregnant because I really wanted to enjoy the "big kid" rides. So now that Kenzington is here, we decided to go while he was out of school for fall break.
It turned into an extended family trip, which made it fun because we had people to trade the kids off with so everyone could ride all day, and Axton had cousins to help him not be afraid to try new rides. Aunt Katie and Uncle Spencer, and Uncle Brad and Aunt Corina with Vanessa, Daniela, and Talia all came. Grandma and Grandpa Leavitt were going to come but Grandpa had meetings that night and Grandma hurt her knee :( so hopefully next time they can come.
We started off ok with pictures but then we got way too interested in the rides to care. Axton didn't like the Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain because they had it all set up for Halloween and he has never like creepy things. He loved the Matterhorn (he begged to go on it repeatedly and we made it the last ride of the night) and all other roller coasters. The day went by way too fast and hopefully next time we can make it for a few days instead of just one.
A very common expression (for both the kids) that would be repeated throughout the entire day, but he only whimpered at the beginning of the Haunted Mansion, and she nevere made a peep on the rides just took it all in, or slept through them.
We got stuck in the Haunted Mansion for a while which was lame, and poor Axton was already scared. The plus side was that everytime we stopped we were able to point out the things in the room and he could really look at them so he'd calm down, but then we'd move onto another room. Our only rule was that he had to try every ride once.
The boat ride was so fun because of Axton. He loved seeing all the "animals" and it was nice to sit and relax without worrying about him running off to the next ride.
Kenzington didn't quite know what to think but that was the story all day.
Showing off his Lightning McQueen/Mickey ears hat that was his souvenir
Axton is sitting with Aunt Katie but he's so little that you can't see him!
Axton was drenched from going down Splash Mountain 3-4 times. He always looked so scared when they took the picture, it was priceless, so we bought one of the pictures but I can't find it to download, so instead this is him afterwards. He loved it though.
Both kids were exhausted by 10pm so the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's was very peaceful! They both did so well, I don't think we had any real melt downs and Axton was a champ at waiting in line which was my biggest fear. Definitely excited for the next trip but that will probably be a while.
It turned into an extended family trip, which made it fun because we had people to trade the kids off with so everyone could ride all day, and Axton had cousins to help him not be afraid to try new rides. Aunt Katie and Uncle Spencer, and Uncle Brad and Aunt Corina with Vanessa, Daniela, and Talia all came. Grandma and Grandpa Leavitt were going to come but Grandpa had meetings that night and Grandma hurt her knee :( so hopefully next time they can come.
We started off ok with pictures but then we got way too interested in the rides to care. Axton didn't like the Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain because they had it all set up for Halloween and he has never like creepy things. He loved the Matterhorn (he begged to go on it repeatedly and we made it the last ride of the night) and all other roller coasters. The day went by way too fast and hopefully next time we can make it for a few days instead of just one.
A very common expression (for both the kids) that would be repeated throughout the entire day, but he only whimpered at the beginning of the Haunted Mansion, and she nevere made a peep on the rides just took it all in, or slept through them.
We got stuck in the Haunted Mansion for a while which was lame, and poor Axton was already scared. The plus side was that everytime we stopped we were able to point out the things in the room and he could really look at them so he'd calm down, but then we'd move onto another room. Our only rule was that he had to try every ride once.
The boat ride was so fun because of Axton. He loved seeing all the "animals" and it was nice to sit and relax without worrying about him running off to the next ride.
Kenzington didn't quite know what to think but that was the story all day.
Showing off his Lightning McQueen/Mickey ears hat that was his souvenir
Axton is sitting with Aunt Katie but he's so little that you can't see him!
Axton was drenched from going down Splash Mountain 3-4 times. He always looked so scared when they took the picture, it was priceless, so we bought one of the pictures but I can't find it to download, so instead this is him afterwards. He loved it though.
Both kids were exhausted by 10pm so the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's was very peaceful! They both did so well, I don't think we had any real melt downs and Axton was a champ at waiting in line which was my biggest fear. Definitely excited for the next trip but that will probably be a while.
Monday, November 14, 2011
The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies
So today while I was in the middle of my workout my doorbell rang and interrupted me. And what should I find but a package from bzzagent with my newest product to rate and spread the word about. There's nothing like sabatoging the last 1/2 hour of working out in a matter of seconds than eating a couple of chocolate chip cookies that are 120 calories each, ouch!
My disclaimer on this one: I don't like hard cookies, I don't buy the prepackaged kind unless specifically asked to by Greg which isn't often. I don't care much for chocolate. And store made chocolate chip cookies always have too many chocolate chips in them for my taste (when I make them myself I always reduce the amount of chips called for by at least half if not 3/4). So for me these were doomed from the beginning, for others who like chocolate and chips ahoy type cookies you might really enjoy them.
Back to the product. The Kroger brand has come out with a new line of products called "The Truly Awesome..." and the one I received for free from bzzagent to try was obviously chocolate chip cookies. The ironic thing, other than them being hand delivered in the middle of working out, is that since having Kenzington I can't stop craving chocolate chip cookies, and normally I don't really care for them!
So of course I ate one immediately, goodbye rest of my workout, goodbye calories burned, hello sugar! Conversation to myself, "Ummm these are ok. Wouldn't buy them though. Too crunchy for my taste, definitely tastes like a hard store bought cookie, doesn't live up to what I would consider a "homestyle" cookie that "tastes as if mom baked them herself" (or so the package says). What a waste of calories. I was hoping they'd taste better. But really there's nothing like a fresh homemade cookie that comes out soft and warm. They remind me of chips ahoy cookies, but they are a little bigger than those, but not very many to a package, only 8. Guess that's a good thing because if I ate all of them that's only about 1000 calories, better than several thousand from chips ahoy! Luckily they aren't that great so I won't be eating this whole box by myself, Axton and others will get to enjoy them."
Then I sat down to read the whole pamphlet on them and discovered their suggestion to throw one in the microwave to make it warm and soft. Of course I had to try that since that is how I like them, no crunchy cookies for me! BIG MISTAKE!!! It said to warm them for a few seconds, so after 10 I felt it and it was still hard but warm, umm no thanks. Decided what the heck and put it back in for 20 more seconds and .... we had warm and SOFT! It was so much better than eating it cold and hard! Who needs to share, bring on the calories baby!
So in the end, if you want a hard cookie, I'd still go with chips ahoy or whatever brand because for the money and size of the package these just aren't worth it to me, even if they are made with "quality" ingredients and "no preservatives" (unless those matter to you). But if you want a soft cookie, these are more tempting, but maybe because I never thought to try and stick one of the others in the microwave, and don't know how they would turn out. As for me though, I'll be sticking to homemade chocolate chip cookies because either way these store bought ones just aren't as good.
I have coupons though for a $1 off one package making them roughly $2 a box if anyone wants one, otherwise they'll be going in the trash can.
My disclaimer on this one: I don't like hard cookies, I don't buy the prepackaged kind unless specifically asked to by Greg which isn't often. I don't care much for chocolate. And store made chocolate chip cookies always have too many chocolate chips in them for my taste (when I make them myself I always reduce the amount of chips called for by at least half if not 3/4). So for me these were doomed from the beginning, for others who like chocolate and chips ahoy type cookies you might really enjoy them.
Back to the product. The Kroger brand has come out with a new line of products called "The Truly Awesome..." and the one I received for free from bzzagent to try was obviously chocolate chip cookies. The ironic thing, other than them being hand delivered in the middle of working out, is that since having Kenzington I can't stop craving chocolate chip cookies, and normally I don't really care for them!
So of course I ate one immediately, goodbye rest of my workout, goodbye calories burned, hello sugar! Conversation to myself, "Ummm these are ok. Wouldn't buy them though. Too crunchy for my taste, definitely tastes like a hard store bought cookie, doesn't live up to what I would consider a "homestyle" cookie that "tastes as if mom baked them herself" (or so the package says). What a waste of calories. I was hoping they'd taste better. But really there's nothing like a fresh homemade cookie that comes out soft and warm. They remind me of chips ahoy cookies, but they are a little bigger than those, but not very many to a package, only 8. Guess that's a good thing because if I ate all of them that's only about 1000 calories, better than several thousand from chips ahoy! Luckily they aren't that great so I won't be eating this whole box by myself, Axton and others will get to enjoy them."
Then I sat down to read the whole pamphlet on them and discovered their suggestion to throw one in the microwave to make it warm and soft. Of course I had to try that since that is how I like them, no crunchy cookies for me! BIG MISTAKE!!! It said to warm them for a few seconds, so after 10 I felt it and it was still hard but warm, umm no thanks. Decided what the heck and put it back in for 20 more seconds and .... we had warm and SOFT! It was so much better than eating it cold and hard! Who needs to share, bring on the calories baby!
So in the end, if you want a hard cookie, I'd still go with chips ahoy or whatever brand because for the money and size of the package these just aren't worth it to me, even if they are made with "quality" ingredients and "no preservatives" (unless those matter to you). But if you want a soft cookie, these are more tempting, but maybe because I never thought to try and stick one of the others in the microwave, and don't know how they would turn out. As for me though, I'll be sticking to homemade chocolate chip cookies because either way these store bought ones just aren't as good.
I have coupons though for a $1 off one package making them roughly $2 a box if anyone wants one, otherwise they'll be going in the trash can.
Burt's Bees Products
As I have posted in the past, I am a bzzagent, so they send me stuff to sample, spread the word, and report on. For the last month or so I have been using Burt's Bees Facial cleanser and moisturizer that they sent me for free to try out. I must say I am in LOVE with the cleanser, the moisturizer is ok.
Biggest disclaimer: I acknowledge that I'm not the aficionado when it comes to beauty products! I would like to learn more but for now, it's low on the priorities. But I can give you my opinion on the products I tested.
First of all these products are made from all natural ingredients, which I won't lie, I don't really care about, but I know others do! For me it matters how well they work. To be honest with everyone I rarely use anything but water to clean my face. Everytime I try a cleanser I break out, and when I use soap my face gets way too dried out that it drives me crazy. SO just plain water is what I have been using most of my life and I have very few breakouts, thank heavens! But there are things I love about this product that make me think maybe I should be come a regular facial cleanser user!
I LOVE the cleanser because it has NO soap in it. When I use it, it's like putting on lotion, it's so soft and silky. No bubbles, no drying out the skin, and best of all for me.... NO breakouts! The down side for me is the $10 price tag. Maybe that's because I have no idea what other cleansers cost since I don't buy them, and I know some people use the really fancy brand name stuff from department stores that costs a whole heck of a lot more than that, so maybe I'm just cheap. The bottle is a pretty good size though and so far has lasted me at least a month and is still going strong (but I forget to use it sometimes since I'm not in the habit) so it may not last that long for others, but a little goes a long ways!
Now on to the moisturizer. I do use moisturizer more often than I ever use facial cleanser, but I still don't use it that often, mostly when my face is feeling extra dry. This moisturizer isn't much different than others that I've used in the past. It works fine. But I feel like there are some downs that make me unlikely to buy it again. One pump from the bottle gives you more than you need and often times I pump it out without thinking because I'm used to my Aveeda. So I end up with way too much in my hands and end up washing half of it down the sink. The other thing, it feels to wet for me. I apply it and rub it in and it takes a while for it to stop being wet to the touch so I can put on my makeup (on the rare occasions that I wear it!). No matter how little I put on I always feel like there is too much because it doesn't get soaked up very quickly compared to Aveeda. And it's $15, which is about what I pay for Aveeda, and it's probably about the same amount of product, so I think I'll stick to Aveeda until I find something better.
Well that's my two cents on the subject. Can't wait to try out more free products and expand my horizons with bzzagent.com!
Biggest disclaimer: I acknowledge that I'm not the aficionado when it comes to beauty products! I would like to learn more but for now, it's low on the priorities. But I can give you my opinion on the products I tested.
First of all these products are made from all natural ingredients, which I won't lie, I don't really care about, but I know others do! For me it matters how well they work. To be honest with everyone I rarely use anything but water to clean my face. Everytime I try a cleanser I break out, and when I use soap my face gets way too dried out that it drives me crazy. SO just plain water is what I have been using most of my life and I have very few breakouts, thank heavens! But there are things I love about this product that make me think maybe I should be come a regular facial cleanser user!
I LOVE the cleanser because it has NO soap in it. When I use it, it's like putting on lotion, it's so soft and silky. No bubbles, no drying out the skin, and best of all for me.... NO breakouts! The down side for me is the $10 price tag. Maybe that's because I have no idea what other cleansers cost since I don't buy them, and I know some people use the really fancy brand name stuff from department stores that costs a whole heck of a lot more than that, so maybe I'm just cheap. The bottle is a pretty good size though and so far has lasted me at least a month and is still going strong (but I forget to use it sometimes since I'm not in the habit) so it may not last that long for others, but a little goes a long ways!
Now on to the moisturizer. I do use moisturizer more often than I ever use facial cleanser, but I still don't use it that often, mostly when my face is feeling extra dry. This moisturizer isn't much different than others that I've used in the past. It works fine. But I feel like there are some downs that make me unlikely to buy it again. One pump from the bottle gives you more than you need and often times I pump it out without thinking because I'm used to my Aveeda. So I end up with way too much in my hands and end up washing half of it down the sink. The other thing, it feels to wet for me. I apply it and rub it in and it takes a while for it to stop being wet to the touch so I can put on my makeup (on the rare occasions that I wear it!). No matter how little I put on I always feel like there is too much because it doesn't get soaked up very quickly compared to Aveeda. And it's $15, which is about what I pay for Aveeda, and it's probably about the same amount of product, so I think I'll stick to Aveeda until I find something better.
Well that's my two cents on the subject. Can't wait to try out more free products and expand my horizons with bzzagent.com!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Trying to play catch-up
Well my house is almost clean for all of the coming guests in a week and half and so I have decided I can get back to trying to "catch up" on some other not so crucial things on my list, such as blogging and scrapbooking.
So we'll go back to October! I got a groupon for Vertuccio Farms and since it was only about $8 for all of us to go I figured it would be a fun Saturday activity. Especially since Saturdays with the family are getting fewer and farther apart. It seems like we are lucky if we have one a month, without any other obligations.
We've been here in the past, but this year they had more things to do and Axton was older and so he enjoyed most of it more. I always want to go because of the corn maze, but then I remember that this one isn't all that great compared to the ones I've been to. Add that to a husband who doesn't care for them all that much, a 4 year old who thinks it's too hot to walk (which it was... in the 90s still) and a path that you can't really maneuver a stroller through so you get to carry your sweaty sleeping baby.... yeah the corn maze was a bust, we made it about 10 minutes before exiting.
But at least there were other fun things to do and we were there right when it opened and so it wasn't crowded yet.
They have blow up horses for both adults and kids, everyone gets on and then races them around in a circle to see who wins. Luckily though no one else was there yet so Axton and Greg got to just play around. Axton kept falling over but it was fun to watch.
They also had pedal cars but even with the seat moved all the way forward Axton could just reach the petal (one at a time) but not move them so Greg rode with him a few times and other times he pushed him around while Axton steered. He's a little bit of a scary driver!
There was a "cow" that you could milk. Axton didn't really care for it but allowed me a few shots of him trying anyways.
His 2nd favorite activity there was the bean bag toss. They would have stayed there all day if it wasn't for me wanting to explore!
Greg convinced me to make a fool out of myself and show off how weak I've become. I was lucky to get it past a 6, oh well. They had a kid one as well but I didn't get pictures of Axton doing it.
Then it was on to everyone's favorite: the air pillow. We had never been on one before but it was a blast. Greg tried to bounce me high enough to reach the netting over top but the landing wasn't very friendly so I chickened out after a dozen or so attempts.
On to the playground:
They also have tons of animals and Greg decided to pet the cow. I guess he thought Greg tasted yummy!
Awesome bathroom sign
So we'll go back to October! I got a groupon for Vertuccio Farms and since it was only about $8 for all of us to go I figured it would be a fun Saturday activity. Especially since Saturdays with the family are getting fewer and farther apart. It seems like we are lucky if we have one a month, without any other obligations.
We've been here in the past, but this year they had more things to do and Axton was older and so he enjoyed most of it more. I always want to go because of the corn maze, but then I remember that this one isn't all that great compared to the ones I've been to. Add that to a husband who doesn't care for them all that much, a 4 year old who thinks it's too hot to walk (which it was... in the 90s still) and a path that you can't really maneuver a stroller through so you get to carry your sweaty sleeping baby.... yeah the corn maze was a bust, we made it about 10 minutes before exiting.
But at least there were other fun things to do and we were there right when it opened and so it wasn't crowded yet.
They have blow up horses for both adults and kids, everyone gets on and then races them around in a circle to see who wins. Luckily though no one else was there yet so Axton and Greg got to just play around. Axton kept falling over but it was fun to watch.
They also had pedal cars but even with the seat moved all the way forward Axton could just reach the petal (one at a time) but not move them so Greg rode with him a few times and other times he pushed him around while Axton steered. He's a little bit of a scary driver!
There was a "cow" that you could milk. Axton didn't really care for it but allowed me a few shots of him trying anyways.
His 2nd favorite activity there was the bean bag toss. They would have stayed there all day if it wasn't for me wanting to explore!
Greg convinced me to make a fool out of myself and show off how weak I've become. I was lucky to get it past a 6, oh well. They had a kid one as well but I didn't get pictures of Axton doing it.
Then it was on to everyone's favorite: the air pillow. We had never been on one before but it was a blast. Greg tried to bounce me high enough to reach the netting over top but the landing wasn't very friendly so I chickened out after a dozen or so attempts.
On to the playground:
They also have tons of animals and Greg decided to pet the cow. I guess he thought Greg tasted yummy!
Awesome bathroom sign
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